Sweet Links!: 10/24/14

These are cool articles I've found while perusing the interwebs this week:

• #ThroughGlass: FKA Twigs made an extremely cool short film using Google Glass. I still don't want Google Glass, but FKA Twigs' dance moves are sick!
• Marty McFly's hoverboard from Back to the Future can finally maybe be yours!
• Jure Klepic asks marketers: Why only respond to consumer insights, when you can be a shaper or creator of culture? 
• Dan Zarrella explains the science of selfies, and Instagram. The results are pretty darn cool and can easily be put to use. #Selfiequeen status, here I come!
• A Dallas, TX man was locked in a UK bookstore overnight (lucky!!), and turned to Twitter for help.

#TBT & the internet's obsession with the 90s

There's something about reflecting on the past that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That's why social media has dedicated a whole day each week to celebrating nostalgia- #TBT or Throwback Thursday. It's a day where we dust off our old baby pics, showcase our favorite childhood memories, or just post that after-club selfie from last week that got lost in the shuffle. 

But a huge trend that I've noticed is a slight obsession with looking back at a particular time period: The 90's.

I was Scary Spice...ALWAYS.

What is it about the Fresh Prince, slap bracelets, and Tamagotchi that sets our hearts aflutter? The answer is simple...

Take Notes: Shameless Maya & the power of likability

Have you heard of Vlogger Shameless Maya and her "Do you boo" philosophy?

source

If not, you should check out her Youtube channel where she shares videos with her almost 500,000 subscribers. Or maybe mosey on over to her Instagram, where her selfies rack up over 8,000 likes.

In a world full of Instagram models and Youtube gurus, what's unique about Maya is her rapid rise in popularity. Her first video was posted only two years ago. Yup, you read that right. In just two years she has amassed hundreds of thousands of fans, subscribers and followers, myself included.

So how did she do it?

Besides the quality and content of her videos? By being extremely likable.

Facebook Narcissists, Tribal Marketing, & Beyonce

So I came across an interesting study on how Facebook relates to empathy and narcissism*. According to the article narcissism, aka "feelin' yourself a little too much", has risen 30% in the last 25 years- especially among college students.

Could this be caused by the increasing popularity of social networking sites encouraging a generation of "wait let me take an artsy photo of my food before I eat it so my online friends can see"? Who knows. But what we do know is that narcissists make great brand cheerleaders and I can tell you why...

#DesignHack: No patience? No problem!

Creating images for social sharing isn't easy. Especially if you have absolutely no experience with Photoshop, Indesign, or Gimp. It can take forever to learn how to use these programs, let alone create an image worth sharing. So what do you do if you don't have the time or patience to teach yourself?

Ello is like that party that you're dying to go to, but you didn't get an invite so you have to play it cool

Have you heard about Ello? It's a new social network that prides itself on being simple and ad-free. It's also currently invite only. 

I'm still waiting on my invite, but you know, if it doesn't come then, whatever. I didn't want to join anyway. *Shoves hands in pockets* *Haphazardly kicks a stray can*.

Hoppin' on #Hashtags: Don't be THAT guy

In a rush to rise above and be noticed in a sea of social media posts, some brands engage in what I like to call "#hashtag hoppin'".

#Hashtag hoppin' usually occurs when an inexperienced social media manager (or an unpaid intern) sees a popular hashtag on Twitter, or any popular event/holiday, and does his or her very best to quickly twist it into some form of product placement. This happens without said manager or intern actually looking at the hashtag or researching the holiday to make sure it's not about something that they DEFINITELY don't want their company involved in.

Lets look at two of the most inappropriate and embarrassing hashtag hoppin' offenses that I've seen this year. Get ready to gasp, scoff, and face palm: